MEDIUM RARE

With so many SM malls to choose from, where do you think Tessie Sy-Coson does her shopping? “I shop abroad!” came the surprising reply, until she added, “Otherwise I’d be working.” In other words, this workaholic lady would be noticing things, observing people, checking into every nook and corner to see what’s lacking, what’s not good enough. But when she took a break at the “happy spot” for seniors, Sunshine Place, I observed that she had let down her guard and seemed to be enjoying her noonday meal in the company of a group of journalists, including another workaholic, this newspaper’s ECYIII, president and vice chairman of the board. A salad of greens waited for TSC to dig in, followed by a small plate of truffle lumpia rolls. The day’s buffet featured crispy tofu, beef with broccoli, and kaldereta, but she seemed satisfied with her salad. Until a duet of pastries arrived, which she then picked at with her fork. With iced tea fueling the conversation, I asked, “Which mall is the largest?” MOA, Tessie replied, “11,000 footsteps from one end to the other,” as only a dyed-in-the-wool SM worker would (or should) know. While SM is a national brand name as well as a byword among shoppers and mall crawlers, its SM Foundation is little known except among its growing army of beneficiaries in agriculture, health and wellness, education, disaster relief. Some of the foundation’s staff of 60 were at the lunch, including Debbie Sy (an ICA alumna, like TSC), Chito Macapagal, Neny Regino, Connie Angeles. Juris Soliman belongs to the education team, which is in charge of building an SM school anywhere near an SM mall. In other words, every time a new mall comes along, somewhere in the vicinity you may expect a school to rise. For Cristie Angeles, the task is to reach out to farmers and interest them in becoming agripreneurs (as future suppliers of SM supermarkets, why not). The lunch wouldn’t have been complete without our ECY presenting TSC a “Happy birthday!” orchid from his newsworthy collection, a Waling-Waling with petals blooming in a lively, lovely shade of apple-green. Which woman doesn’t love flowers, specially flowers that stay fresh and keep blooming, breathing, for weeks and months!